


Safe Harbour

by 5-5-k (Vsquaredk)



Series: Safe Harbour [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cruise Ship, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Ambiguous/Open Ending, F/F, Gay Disaster Kara Danvers, Gen, Meet-Cute, Minor Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Minor Querl Dox/Nia Nal, Power Imbalance, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Thirsty Lena Luthor, past Alex Danvers/Samantha "Sam" Arias - Freeform, past Andrea Rojas/Kara Danvers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vsquaredk/pseuds/5-5-k
Summary: When Kara's flight back to work is cancelled, she meets Lena in the airport lounge. Kara can't help but be drawn to the woman, and she isn't oblivious to the way that Lena is drawn to her too.But they'll probably never see each other again... right?AKAThe Cruise Ship AU
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Safe Harbour [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940857
Comments: 41
Kudos: 158
Collections: Supercorp Big Bang 2020





	1. Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dasschmitt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasschmitt/gifts), [Bluestonearden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluestonearden/gifts).



> _Long Intro, **Ahoy!**_
> 
> A little more than half a decade ago, I worked on cruise ships. That was before my wife, before my cat, and before the attempt at a stable life that I've finally started to build now.
> 
> The seeds of this AU were planted as COVID-19 was just starting, and international borders were shutting down. Many cruise ship employees were stuck in no-man’s land, unable to work, go home, or even leave the ship. As a former cruise ship photographer, I could only watch in horror as my former work-family ended up stranded for months.
> 
> This fic (and, perhaps, series?) will be inundated with a critical, yet nostalgic, look at cruise ship culture. I left ships 5-6 years ago, so my understanding of the inner workings of cruise ships may be a little bit dated. From what I’ve heard, though, the many problematic things that I encountered through working on cruise ships (like classism, systemic racism, and misogyny) are deeply ingrained within cruise ship culture, and still exist at present. These issues will be peripheral to the Lena & Kara’s story, but will be included because I don't believe in painting a something as sunshine and rainbows when it is _definitely_ not.
> 
> AND last but not least, a ton of shout outs to [Eliam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliam/pseuds/Eliam), [TheHomelessHomebody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHomelessHomebody/pseuds/TheHomelessHomebody), [MemeQueen](https://supercorp-stans.tumblr.com), and [MsSirEy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsSirEy/pseuds/MsSirEy). I wouldn't have made it through the BB without your help.
> 
> Anyway, tl;dr: this fic is a love letter to the cruise industry, warts and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out the amazing art that was created for this fic!  
> [@dasschmitt made this](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCBB2020/works/26765272) and [@bluestonearden made this](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCBB2020/works/26742205) and a03 won't let me throw bags and bags of kudos at them so plz give them all the kudos!

“ _How was your flight, honey? Did you make your connection?_ ”

“It was okay, I guess. As far as flights go, anyway.” Kara pulls a rumpled flight itinerary from a worn canvas backpack with a barely audible grunt before responding. She winces, scrunching up her face in displeasure; her next flight isn't for another three hours. “And yeah, I definitely did; it’s not for a while.” She closes her backpack with a sigh, and tosses it over one shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer.”

“ _It is what it is._ ” Eliza mirrors Kara’s sigh, her normally steady voice still sounding a little wobbly and weak over the phone. Kara’s brows crease with worry as she wedges her earbuds deeper into her ears. “ _You can’t stay away from work forever, and recovery takes time. Your team needs you._ ”

Kara makes a distracted noise of agreement as she rolls her small carry-on to a nearby departures screen, itinerary in hand. Central City’s main terminal always throws her for a loop. “Hey, mom?”

" _Hmm?_ "

“Why are all airports so confusing?”

Eliza chuckles. “ _Jeremiah used to say that airports were this strange liminal space, where you could wear things you’d never dare to in public and still be taken seriously._ ”

As her eyes continue to scan the map, Kara can’t help but grin a little at her mom’s words, because it’s true. She’s wearing her ridiculously fluorescent compression tights and an overly baggy high school sweater, there’s a neck pillow with little cats on it around her neck, and her hair is in the world’s messiest bun. Somehow she feels comfortable out in public in this, even if she’d never wear this any other time. Besides, she just saw someone wearing a hooded panda onesie on her flight.

In the background, Kara hears Krypto barking. “ _Oh, I’ve gotta go, honey. I think that might be Clark and Lois at the door._ ”

“Please be careful getting up. I wouldn’t want you to bother your stitches.” Kara bites at her lip in worry, but she can practically hear Eliza’s eye roll, even as the older woman lets out a quiet groan of exertion as she gets up.

“ _Kara, I’m fine._ ”

“You had surgery barely a week ago! Someone should be there taking care of you!” It’s not lost on either of them that, by someone, Kara means herself.

Eliza’s long suffering sigh is barely audible over Krypto’s excitement. “ _Kara, it was just an appendectomy, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself, okay? I’m fine._ ” It’s a tired argument that they’ve had over the last several days, and Kara’s main excuse for her many attempts to stay in Midvale a little longer.

Kara sighs, relenting. “Fine. Say hi to Lois and Clark for me? And give extra scritches to Krypto tonight?”

Eliza’s voice is fond. “ _Of course. And text me when you land in National City._ ”

“I will. Love you lots.” Eliza parrots her last three words before disconnecting the call, leaving Kara to get back to making sense of where she is.

༄༄༄

A surprisingly crowded Gate 37 is preparing to board another flight when Kara gets there. She ends up sitting on the ground beside a miraculously free plug on the wall to wait for her flight.

As she settles in, she notices a tired mother sitting in the seat close to her, with a fussy, red faced toddler. Kara’s quick to blast her music before the baby’s mouth is fully open, eager to drown out the babe’s scream.

Beside them, a busy looking dark-haired woman barely flinches at the noise, despite her lack of headphones. Instead, she seems to have a laser-like focus on her laptop, fingers flying over her keyboard. Kara winces for her eardrums, slightly in awe of the woman’s ability to stay on task with what might as well be a banshee right next to her.

The frazzled mother moves away to calm the child, making shushing motions to no avail, and Kara is surprised when the woman on the laptop looks up. Kara’s eyes widen slightly as they make eye contact, and the woman gives her a tired but commiserating smile.

_Jesus H Murphy, she’s beautiful…_

Kara’s mouth drops open slightly in awe. Even dressed in comfortable, loose fitting travel clothes, the woman somehow pulls off a sophisticated and put together air. From where she sits, Kara can’t help but notice that the dark blouse and pants she’s wearing do nothing to hide her figure. Or the stark contrast her worn combat boots strike with the rest of her outfit. After a beat, in which Kara just stares, the woman’s friendly green irises dim slightly before dropping back down to her laptop.

_Way to go, Kara, you gay disaster._

Dejected, she sets an alarm on her phone and closes her eyes, head lolling back onto her neck pillow to rest on the wall. Experience says that the more she rests before getting back to work, the better.

༄༄༄

The next time Kara opens her eyes, neither the mother and her toddler, or the woman with the laptop and the striking green eyes are across from her. They’ve been replaced by a man slouched in the seat with his legs akimbo, and a ball cap over his face. A quick check of her phone shows that only half an hour has passed, but the screen listing the departures indicates that her flight to National City has been cancelled, which is just her luck. Kara can’t help but scowl as she packs up; she didn’t bring enough snacks for this.

What was it Jeremiah had called airports? A liminal space, Eliza had said. An in between. Neither where she has been, nor where she’s going. Kara hates being in between. It’s like a type of phantom zone, where time doesn’t exist and you end up in a building full of recycled air with too many other people, and, despite the crowds, you only have your own thoughts for company. Kara would much rather be flying through the air than restless and stranded on the ground, and now she’s going to be stuck here for who knows how long.

She’s on the phone to the port agent soon enough, and is told there’s nothing they can do; something has happened to the plane that has grounded it back in National City, and for some reason, none of the flights to National City from Central City for the rest of the day have spare seats.

“Don’t worry, though, Ms. Danvers, we’ve booked you for a flight tomorrow afternoon.”

Kara’s eyebrows furrow, frustrated. “The ship leaves in the early afternoon though, tomorrow, and don’t I need to be on it?” She’ll need to let Eliza and Alex know about the change in plans. Ugh, this was not good.

“ _You're set to fly out about fifteen minutes before the ship sets sail._ "

_Fuck my life… that’s not good. Cat is going to kill me!_

" _Not to worry, we’ll contact the hotel in National City, and extend your stay, and I’ll be sure to contact the Cruise Director so that they are aware of the situation._ ” The port agent is both warm and brusque, somehow. “ _Lucky for you, it’s a short 3-day cruise, then they’re back in National City. I’ll email you details once I have arranged everything for you._ ”

Kara sighs. “Fair. Okay.”

“ _Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Danvers?_ ”

_I don’t know, get me out of this airport? Keep me company? Help me get out of my thoughts?_

Kara can’t help but hug herself a little tighter, and forces a laugh. “Any tips for passing the night in an airport?”

“I would suggest talking to the people at the kiosk about how to proceed with your evening. My understanding is that you may be able to get meal vouchers or some other benefits for your trouble. If that doesn't work out, feel free to call me back at this number.”

Kara thanks the port agent for their help, and it’s not long before Kara has charmed the airline employees into apology meal vouchers, access to the premium lounge until her flight, as well as a room in the airport hotel.

༄༄༄

As Kara enters the premium lounge, carry-on in tow, she sends an update to Eliza and Alex. Her sister probably won’t get it until tomorrow when they dock, but Kara figures Alex will prefer hearing about her extended absence from her as opposed to from Cat. She’s only several steps into the large lounge when she spies the woman from earlier, the one with the eyes, still busy at work on her laptop, despite sitting at a mostly empty bar.

Kara slips off her headphones as she slips into an empty seat, making sure to leave space between the dark haired stranger and her seat. The bartender places a glass of water on a coaster and a menu in front of her with a courteous smile before pouring another finger of whiskey into the tumbler of the green-eyed woman several seats away, who looks up to thank him softly.

_Oh god, her voice. Hot damn._

The woman glances over at Kara, who gives her an awkward wave.

“Hey stranger...”

_Yeah, you don’t seem awkward and weird at all, Kara._

“Oh, hello!” The woman smiles warmly, recognizing her. “How was your nap? You seemed to be enjoying it.” The smile on dark red lips turns into a smirk as she brings her finger up to point at the corner of Kara’s lips.

Kara feels heat on her cheeks as she swipes desperately at her mouth. To her horror, there’s the remnants of a line of drool on her face. Kara chuckles to herself. “I… ya. It was alright, until some manspreader kicked me and I found out my flight was canceled, so...” She trails off with a shrug.

“You too? Well,” the woman pulls the seat next to her out before gesturing for Kara to sit with her. “Care to join me? Misery does love company, after all.”

The woman quickly finishes up with her laptop, slipping it away in the smaller of her two travel bags as the bartender takes Kara’s order. As he goes to punch in her order, Kara moves her things to the seat next to Lena.

Kara’s new companion turns to her with a warm smile. “I’m Lena, by the way.”

“Kara, nice to meet you.” There’s a handshake that has Kara holding on for a beat too long in surprise. Lena’s grip is deceptively strong, and despite the clean manicure, her hands are slightly calloused (not that Kara can really talk about calluses). Lena is also making incredibly intense eye contact with Kara, who finds that her throat is suddenly incredibly dry. Luckily, that’s when the bartender decides to give Kara her rum and coke, which she quickly snags to quench her thirst before turning back to Lena with a question. “Did you happen to catch why our flight was cancelled?”

“Something about a loose animal on the plane, and a broken ceiling panel.” Lena looks highly amused. “I think they said it was a squirrel or a raccoon or something.”

Kara is confused. “Rogue wildlife? On a plane?”

Lena nods, eyes glinting humorously over her whiskey tumbler as she takes a sip. “At least we won’t have any motherfucking snakes on our motherfucking plane when this is all over.”

Kara nearly spits her drink out, which has Lena smirking smugly. “Oh my _God_ , Lena!”

༄༄༄

Kara’s getting the last bite of her complimentary dessert in when she finally asks, “So, National City. What’s drawing you there, business or pleasure?”

Lena looks playfully scandalized, a hand to her chest in mock outrage. “Are you coming onto me, Kara? We’ve only just met!”

Kara’s eyes widen as she sputters, heart hammering in her throat. “Oh, gosh, I- no, I would nev–”

Lena’s hand on Kara’s arm has the blonde stilling. “Relax, I’m joking.” Kara finds herself missing Lena’s touch as she lets go, and her heart pangs slightly. Lena turns in her chair to look out the nearby window, pensive. Kara can’t help but soak in the way the warm light of the setting sun reflects off Lena’s face and dark hair.

_God, she’s absolutely breathtaking._

“A bit of both, really.” Lena finally turns back to Kara, eyes eager again. “You?” She uses her glass of whisky to gesture at Kara’s carry-on, which is covered in vinyl stickers. “You seem to be very well travelled for a woman your age.”

“You’re not that much older than me!”

Lena belly-laughs at that. “You flatter me, Kara! You’re, what, in your mid-twenties?”

Kara nods self-consciously.

“I’m easily at least a decade older than you.”

_No fucking way!_

Green eyes narrow into a squint as Lena considers Kara’s collection. “I see… Singapore, Hawaii, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, England, Chile, Taiwan, Ireland, the Baltics, Peru, the Carribean, Japan, Iceland, China, Canada, Korea…” Lena pauses, brows sliding upwards in surprise. “Is that a Balinese mask?”

At Kara’s murmur of approval, Lena lets out an impressed whistle. “Wow! Is there anywhere you haven’t been?”

Kara laughs. “Loads of places, but they’re mostly landlocked, I guess. Africa and most of Eastern Europe.” She counts on her hands as she thinks aloud. “Oh! And Antarctica, but that’s on the bucket list.” Kara waggles her eyebrows. “How did you recognize them all?”

Lena brushes her question off. “That doesn’t matter as much as… How…?”

Kara shrugs. “I spend most of the year away from home, travelling for work. I’m actually on my way back out, after a week at home.” At Lena’s look of pity, Kara can’t help but defend her choices. “I love my job, though! And my coworkers are like family to me! I honestly can’t wait to get back to it.” Kara smiles, almost as if to reassure the older woman.

Lena leans forward, intrigued. “And what is it that you do?”

“I’m a dancer on cruise ships. Well, aerialist, technically.” Kara rolls her shoulders back, proud. “And I’m the dance team captain.”

Lena stills, suddenly, and Kara is surprised to see something of a wall slip up behind Lena’s eyes. But then, with a shake of her head and a chuckle, it vanishes in thin air, almost as if it was never even there. “That explains the…” Lena wordlessly gestures at Kara’s physique, and tendrils of heat simultaneously crawl up Kara’s neck and between her legs. “So cruise ships… what’s that like?”


	2. The Sea-nic Route

Time in the lounge passes more quickly than time in the rest of the airport. The setting sun is quick to disappear under the tarmac, but Kara doesn’t even notice. When was the last time Kara had connected with someone like this? Lena is graceful and charismatic, and seems enthralled by the ridiculous stories Kara tells about her time at sea.

“I swear to god, this monkey jumps up onto the sea wall, punches me in the face, steals my glasses off my face, and just books it out of there.” It’s Kara’s favourite story to tell, and, judging from the tears leaking out of Lena’s eyes, she finds it as hilarious as Kara does.

“No!” Lena’s nose squinches up in laughter.

“I swear to god!” Kara snags a fry from their shared plate, gesturing with it.

“The monkey god?”

Kara nods vigorously. “Exactly! But the story gets better!”

Lena’s eyebrows shoot up. “How?”

“So the monkey is running along the wall, and I'm sprinting after it but that little bugger is _fast_. And then the monkey jumps into a tree, and starts, I kid you not, gnawing on my glasses.” Kara laughs. “I’m, like, climbing the wall to get at this monkey, right? And my sister, Alex, she’s pulling at my shirt to make sure I don’t fall over the wall and off the cliff a thousand feet or something into the ocean. And as all this is happening, the monkey just starts to twist my glasses until they just–” Kara mimes as she makes a breaking sound effect. "Just like that."

Lena wipes at her eyes, voice coloured by mirth. “This can’t be true.” She shakes her head. “There’s no way a monkey in Bali stole your glasses _at the monkey god temple_.”

“It’s 100% true! Here, lemme see if I can find pictures.” She pulls out her phone to see a notification from the port agent. “Oh, shoot, I have an email I need to check.” Lena gestures for her to go ahead, but Kara just opens her camera roll, waving her off. “It’s fine. I’ll check it after.” It takes some scrolling, and when Kara finds it, she makes a triumphant noise, turning her phone to Lena.

“Oh my god, look at your precious dejected face,” Lena croons as she uses two fingers to zoom in on it and pans around the image, to Kara’s mortification.

In the picture, a younger Kara is pouting, and Alex has her arm slung around her and is obviously laughing at her. The ocean in the distance is cut off by a brown stone wall, and a tree that sprouts from behind it. A monkey in the tree looks to be holding pieces of what must have been a pair of glasses. Kara can't help but scowl at the monkey as Lena checks it out.

“I had reason to be sad, though,” Kara crosses her arm, amused. “They were super cool glasses, and I could barely see the sights until I got back to the ship that evening.”

“It’s alright.” Lena's laughing so hard she's bent in half. “You gave an offering to the monkey god.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Kara nods sagely in agreement.

It's not long before Lena excuses herself to quickly freshen up, and Kara has the chance to check her email. She's told her stay at the hotel has been extended for several days, and there’s directions about how to get there from the National City terminal. She's just fired off a thank you to the port agent when she gets a WhatsApp call from her sister.

"Hey!"

“ _Cat's so fucking pissed at you._ ”

“Hello to you, too, you ass.” Kara rolls her eyes.

_Blunt as usual, isn’t she. Wait–_

“Why the heck are you calling me? You’re, what, halfway up the coast? That’s expensive, idiot! Just shoot me an email!”

“ _It’s free, actually._ ”

“What?”

“ _I know! They just finished installing new tech, and apparently VOIP calls are free for crew now. Winn is freaking out about the tech, but what else is new._ ”

Kara imagines Winn’s giddy face, and smiles. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“ _Don’t change the subject though,” Alex is back to sounding peeved. “Cat’s said something hoisting you up with the signal flags when she sees you next._ ”

"Cat can shove it.” Kara’s voice gets slightly pitchy as she gets annoyed, “It's not like we could’ve had the show go on, with the broken halo harness and all. We were lucky that Winn noticed it before something snapped while I was 30 feet above the stage or something equally dangerous."

They share a morbidly contemplative silence before Alex shrugs it off. " _She doesn't care. Well, she does, because health and safety, but you know she hates surprises, and being short a person for this cruise’s deck party was not a nice surprise._ ”

"I'm sure she had more colourful language to describe that." Kara shrugs. "Cat can take it up with whatever weird creature busted up the inside of the plane I was supposed to take."

Alex snorts. " _Wait, that's why?_ ”

"Didn’t you read my email?" Kara turns to look out the window with a frustrated huff.

“ _I did! I just didn't think you were serious!_ ”

An eye roll. "Rude."

“ _You love it._ ”

"Sure, okay." Even as Kara dismisses her, she knows Alex can hear the fondness in her voice.

“ _I know you told me that you didn’t want me to talk about her, but Andy told me to pass on that she can’t wait to see you… I don’t know why I need to play middleman for the two of you though, I mean–_ ”

“Shit, sorry Alex!” Kara sucks in a breath. “It’s probably because I’m screening her calls and not reading her messages.”

“ _Shit, seriously Kara?_ ” Alex sounds concerned. “ _Should I sicc Brainy or Winn or Maggie on her?_ ”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Kara sighs, dragging her hand over her face. “You were right, it wasn’t going to last. Anyway, it wasn’t her.”

Alex tutts softly over the phone, but Kara appreciates that she doesn’t ask for details.

“I’ll tell you more about it when I get back to the ship, yeah? I just… need some time.”

“ _Yeah, sure. My door is always open for you… unless I’m napping, or with Kelly. Then it’s closed._ ” Alex forces out a fake laugh, and Kara wishes she could be there and give Alex a tight thank you hug for trying to keep things light. “ _Anyway, I gotta get ready, it's Vasquez's goodbye shindig at the crew bar. And I heard from Nia that Winn might finally be having his drag debut with the Oceanic Eleven! I don’t wanna miss that. Enjoy your extended vacation, nerd._ ”

"You're just jealous. Also, Madame Deviner would never, not if I’m not there! Say goodbye to Vasquez for me? Tell them I'll miss their smiling face."

Alex laughs; they both know Vasquez rarely smiles. " _Okay, whatever you say, cap. I gotta run. Oh, and, uh, be safe, okay? I love you, even if you're a massive pain in my ass._ ”

"Love you too." Kara’s voice is fond and slightly wistful. Alex hangs up, and that's when Kara becomes aware that Lena's back from wherever, face looking guarded and hard, even with the day's makeup washed off.

Lena busies herself with stiffly putting her things away and doesn't make eye contact as she asks, "Who was that? Your partner?"

Kara guffaws, and pushes thoughts of another brunette out of her mind. "Oh, gosh, no. That would be so weird! Just Alex."

"Alex.” Lena ponders that for a moment, before her posture loosens and her eyes flit up to Kara’s. “The sister." Lena says it like a statement. Kara nods anyway, because the way Lena’s brows have scrunched together makes it seem like it should be a question. At that answer, Lena’s jaw unclenches and the twinkle returns to her eyes, and Kara feels like taking a step (or ten) out of her comfort zone."The airline booked me a room…"

Lena cocks an eyebrow at that, her lip curling in amusement.

"I dunno, I just- it looks like you're planning on using one of the sleep pods in the lounge, and I'm sure there's room for more than just me?” Kara can feel the heat of her blush on her cheeks. “That is, if you wanted to join… me…?" Kara can barely hear herself as she speaks, her heartbeat is roaring in her ears, but she knows she says it, because Lena breaks out into a full, toothy grin.

"You really _are_ coming onto me!" Lena starts laughing as Kara stammers awkwardly about how _that's not what she meant_ , feeling the need to backpedal. "Are you sure? I could be a serial killer, you know.”

Kara snorts disbelievingly, and reassures her that the offer is genuine.

Lena pauses to look around the near-empty lounge. Their bartender has long since left, and the only people left in the lounge are the late shift and a couple of weary looking businessmen. Kara knows Lena’s answer before she opens her mouth to speak. “Well, a bed would definitely be more comfortable than what's here." Lena quickly collects her things before turning to Kara expectantly. "Lead the way!"

Kara winces, remembering her long journey to finding the right terminal earlier in the day. "That really might not be the best idea…"

༄༄༄

Kara wakes late the next morning to a sore back, the sound of typing on a keyboard, and the scent of coffee, which is… unexpected, but not unwelcome. Her eyes feel glued shut, and she merely rolls over with a groan.

"Good morning, Kara."

_Oh my god, right. Lena._

Kara flashes back to the night before. To having to resort to asking security where the hotel was after getting turned around more than once (Lena has the patience of a saint, that much Kara is sure of). To checking in at the hotel way past a reasonable hour, and walking into the room to find that she was given a complimentary suite with a King bed and a pull out couch. Seeing that, Kara had gallantly stammered out her offer to sleep on the couch. Lena had merely laid her hand on Kara's bicep and called Kara her hero before slipping into the bathroom to change. Sleep had not come easily for Kara that night, especially not after seeing Lena in flannel bottoms and a loose sleep shirt. Lena had no such trouble, it seemed.

"G'mor–" The rest of Kara's greeting is interrupted by a massive yawn. Kara’s almost certain the small cough Lena lets out is to hide a laugh. The blonde sees a coffee on the table, steamy and fresh. It looks like Lena is already put together for the day, and Kara can't help but feel overwhelmingly underdressed.

"I have to catch my flight in about 2 hours, but can I get you breakfast before I go? To thank you for housing a potential serial killer? And, well…" Lena motions at the large, soft-looking bed with a soft smile, and Kara can’t help the way her heart tugs at the other woman’s kind gesture.

"No thanks are necessary, but I’ll never say no to food!" As Kara moves to get up, she catches a glimpse of her bedhead in the TV’s reflection and winces. It looks like a rat’s nest.

_Right. Get halfway presentable, then pancakes!_

༄༄༄

Down in the hotel restaurant, Kara can’t help but drown her pancakes in syrup before tucking in. A shameless moan slips out, and Kara blushes as she catches Lena wry smirk over the edge of a steaming cup of tea.

After a sip, Lena carefully sets her teacup down with a slight frown, before adding half a pack of sugar. She stirs it idly, somehow able to do so without clinking the teaspoon on the porcelain of the teacup. “How is it?”

“Sho gurd!”

“Sorry?” Lena asks with a teasing smirk on her face. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

Kara chews and swallows her last mouthful of pancake before beaming at the other woman. “So good! Thank you!”

“No thanks necessary, Kara,” Lena nods, satisfied, and goes to take another sip of tea. “The pancakes are in appreciation for your generosity last night.”

“If this is how you say thanks, I’m always happy to give you a helping hand!” Kara smiles contentedly, and leans back, patting her full stomach. “A girl could get used to this kind of treatment!”

Her words come out slightly gravelly from the syrup, and Kara nearly misses the way Lena’s cup falters slightly on the way to her lips. It’s impossible, though, for Kara to miss the quiet yelp Lena lets out as tea sloshes over the rim of her cup, scalding her hand.

_Oh shit, oh no!_

Before she can think, Kara leans forward and has Lena’s hand in one of hers, her other hand grasping her sopping napkin. When did she dunk it in the water pitcher? She isn’t sure, but that matters less than helping Lena. The other woman’s face is twisted in pain, and she lets out a quiet gasp as Kara softly presses the cold napkin to her bright pink fingers.

“You know, I didn’t mean–” Kara focuses on keeping the cold napkin on Lena’s shaking hands, pointedly ignoring the way that quiet gasp has her heart skipping a beat. Or the way she itches to caress the calloused skin under her fingers. Or the way Lena’s hand fits so nicely in hers. Or just how beautiful the other woman is up close.

_You’re never going to see this woman again after today, Kara. Get a grip!_

“Are you alright?” Kara’s brows furrow in concern, and she looks up to catch Lena’s eyes.

“I…” Lena trails off sheepishly, eyes wide in surprise. They sit quietly, eyes locked, with matching blushes colouring their cheeks, until a server breaks the silence, bustling by with a tray of mimosas for another table. Lena clears her throat and pulls away as she carefully extracts her hands from Kara’s to inspect them. “My step-mother was always on my case about being clumsy.” There’s a breathy, self deprecating, laugh, then, “Evidently, that hasn’t changed much over the years.”

Kara laughs with Lena, more aware than ever of the tension swirling around them. She could cut it with a knife, and, well, Lena was leaving after breakfast. And Kara was basically cutting herself off from the mainland once she got back on the ship. “Eliza used to say the same thing! She says that’s why Alex and I ended up in dance.”

“That certainly worked out well for you!” Lena winces, flexing her fingers carefully. “To circle back to your earlier question, it looks like my fingers will survive, thanks to your quick thinking.”

Kara waves it off with a laugh. “It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing.” Lena shakes her head, appreciation twinkling in her eyes. “I know I said this last night, but I mean it.” She sends a warm smile to Kara. “You’re my hero.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The monkey temple story? That actually happened to me. Thank god for fandom friends in Singapore (you know who you are)!
> 
> _VOIP_ → Voice Over Internet Protocol


	3. All Hands on Deck

Kara walks Lena to her flight, and waves as she leaves, before whiling away the rest of her time alone. After that, she fields several emails from Cat before wandering idly through the overpriced shops in the terminal. As always, her passive quest of finding more stickers for her carry-on keeps her busy window-shopping in search of anything that might catch her eye.

The flight itself isn’t memorable, except for an additional 2 hour weather-related delay, and the beautiful sunset that is just beginning to dip beyond the horizon when they start their descent over National City. Kara can’t help but be thankful for having the window seat, and snaps a picture to send to Eliza when she gets to the hotel.

The moment she has service, her phone blows up with at least twenty notifications, most of which are from Cat, Alex, or Eliza. One, though, is an email from the port agent. There was some sort of problem with the hotel reservation, so she’s been moved to a different hotel. Luckily for Kara, the new one is closer to the harbour, which means she'll be able to sleep a bit more before her god-awful embarkation time. This also apparently means she’s going to be met by someone at the terminal, which–

“Kara? Ms. Kara Danvers?” A strangely familiar voice, coming from an equally familiar brunette in a crisp leather jacket, gets her attention.

_Is that–_

“Sam? Samantha Arias?” Kara jogs over to where Alex’s ex-something stood holding a placard with Kara’s name on it, and wraps the brunette in a tight hug. “Oh my gosh! You’re a sight for sore eyes!”

“It’s been too long, _paisano_!” The brunette beams and gives Kara a tight squeeze before letting her go to motion towards her carry-on. “Is that all you have with you?”

Kara nods, and happily trots beside Sam, pulls Kara’s carry-on towards the exit. “What’re you doing shoreside?”

“I’m corporate,” Sam says, throwing an arm over Kara’s shoulder. “Have been for a couple years now.”

“Seriously? That’s awesome!” Kara feels her heart swell in happiness. She knows that, back when they’d shared a contract on the same ship, Sam had been torn between providing a steady income for Ruby, and being able to be physically present for her daughter back home. The extra training she had signed up for must have paid off, because here she was.

As they enter the underground parkade, Kara can’t help but notice Sam’s relaxed posture, and her confident stride. “Shoreside looks good on you.”

“What do you mean?” They pause as Sam cranes her neck and looks around them before pulling out her phone. “Sorry, I can’t remember where I parked the car...”

“Oh, that’s fine.” Kara pauses, and fiddles with her backpack straps. “Well, I mean… You just… you look more sure of yourself. Not that you weren’t sure of yourself before, but, like–”

“I think I know what you mean.” Sam looks up from her screen to scan around again, then starts walking down one of the parkade lanes, leaving Kara to follow half a step behind. “There’s… a consistency to shoreside that isn’t really there on ships.”

Kara grimaces, glad that Sam’s back is to her.

_That’s definitely not my scene._

“How’s Ruby?”

“Oh, you know, getting all distant and rebellious, as preteens do.” Sam pulls a key fob out of her pocket and pops the trunk of a dark colored luxury SUV before placing Kara’s carry-on inside. “Get in, loser, we’re going to the hotel.”

Kara ignores the reference as she climbs into the car. “This is new!”

“Yeah, well, there’s new management and all that.” Sam closes the driver door, and mumbles a reminder for Kara to put on her seatbelt before continuing. “There’s a bunch of changes coming.”

Kara scrunches her eyebrows in confusion, but Sam doesn’t notice, her eyes trained on the road.

༄༄༄

The day of embarkation is always a bit of a mess. Kara can’t help but dread it, no matter how many times she goes through it. She’s jarringly awoken by the shrill ring of the room phone before the first rays of the sun have even begun poking out from under the horizon, and the concierge cheerily informs her that it’s her time to wake up, friendly despite Kara’s grunt of thanks. Then it’s repacking whatever she needs to repack, grabbing the supplies (and bribes for Cat) that she gathered over her three days waiting for the ship to return, and checking out.

After using her last meal voucher for a ridiculously early breakfast, Kara curls up in one of the few comfortable chairs in the hotel lobby, cradling her unfinished coffee in her hands. Her work out playlist is blasting in her ears, and is the only thing keeping her awake, despite the double-shot of espresso she’d already had with her breakfast.

The port agent is late. Kara can’t help but look around the lobby, hoping to see a friendly face. At least a dozen other crew members, people Kara will see around the ship, are standing around, sitting on the floor or their overstuffed luggage. There’s several rookie sailors, eyes wide in nervousness as they perch on planters and whisper amongst themselves. At least one person is using the hotel wifi to have a quiet video call with their family overseas. Judging from what Kara can see on their screens, the time difference is letting them say goodnight to their children, and tell their families that they love them.

A woman dressed in business casual and carrying a clipboard, strides into the hotel lobby and comes to pause by the group of tired sailors. Her lanyard has the StarShip Cruises logo on it, and Kara pulls out her earbuds as the tired looking brunette opens her mouth to speak.

“–name is Siobhan. I’m one of the port agents here in National City.” Siobhan’s smile is strictly professional as she surveys the group. “We have a pretty tight schedule, and will be leaving for the cruise port promptly at 6:15. That’s in…” She checks the small silver watch on her wrist. “Exactly 24 minutes. If you haven’t checked out of your rooms, or if you have any other things you need to collect or finish up before we go, make sure you do so quickly.” There’s a pointed look at the video callers, despite them giving her their full attention. “Also, if I could have everyone come and check in with me that they’re here before heading over to the bus, that would really help us get going on time.” With that, she whips a pen out of thin air, clipboard up and at the ready.

Kara’s checking in with Siobhan and one of the first on the bus, wanting to sneak in a short nap before they get to port. As people get on and luggage is loaded, she finds the rocking of the bus lulling her back to sleep.

༄༄༄

With her American passport (and her face, if she’s being honest), she makes it through customs easily. She can’t help but give an apologetic grimace to the crewmembers behind her in line as the customs officer starts drilling them over their roles onboard, travel paths, and their length of contract.

“Is it always like this during embarkation?”

Kara looks over at the shorter Asian woman trying to hide a yawn behind her passport. She’d seen her in the lobby, but the woman hadn’t seemed that flustered earlier. “Not always.” Kara shrugs and smiles at her. “First contract?”

The woman lets out a chuckle. “No, I just usually embark in Vancouver or Halifax… or overseas.” The woman shrugs. “I guess, they’re usually a lot less…” There’s a glance around to see if anyone is listening to her, before she continues. “Judgy?”

Kara rolls her eyes with an amused smile. “You can say shitty.”

The Asian woman gives Kara a wan smile, and sticks her hand out towards Kara. “I’m Jess.”

Kara accepts Jess’s handshake, amused. “Kara,”

_She’s definitely on her second or third contract… too fresh faced for–_

“Sir! It’s good to see you!” Eve bounces towards the two of them, dressed in a standard officer’s uniform, with two and a half golden stripes on each shoulder. Kara looks around them for the older crewmember that she’s talking to, but sees no one around that fits Kara’s experience of _Sir_.

Jess rolls her eyes, and turns to the newcomer. “Honestly, Eve, how many times do I need to tell you not to call me Sir.”

_Sir? Jess is a stripe?_

“Probably a few more times,” Eve smirks before turning to Kara with a grin. “Good to have you back in one piece, Kara.”

“Hey, _paisano_ ,” Kara pulls the shorter woman into a hug.

“I’d steer clear of Cat for a bit. She’s still pissed with you for missing the last cruise,” Eve returns the hug happily, missing Kara’s grimace, before stepping away. “But I’m sure Alex told you that already.” Kara nods. “Don’t worry, I’m sure our new HGM will keep you safe.” Eve gives a conspiratorial wink to Jess, who scowls back at her with crossed arms.

_Oh fuck, she’s the hotel general manager! And I thought she was new! This is so mortifying…_

“Oh golly, I’m so sorry I didn’–”

Jess waves her off with a laugh. “It’s okay, Kara! If anything, I’m flattered.” Jess flashes a cheeky grin at her.

Eve looks between the two of them, confused, but shrugs off her question when she notices the rest of the new crewmembers are through customs. She checks in with everyone, double checking names on her list, before having them follow her up to the gangway.

༄༄༄

Once they all arrive at the crew office, Kara trades in her passport for her sign on package. Her’s is significantly thinner than the rest, and really only has her room key, ID card, and the customs papers she’s already filled out. She knows she should be happy to get out of all the onboarding training modules that the rest of the new crewmembers will need to take part in, but Cat is already waiting for her by the crew office. She’s standing beside the crew news bulletin board; beside her is a white board, grey with use, that reads, “ _Number of Days Onboard Without an Accident_ ” across the top. A large zero is written underneath, accompanied by a little frowny face that Kara assumes is Eve’s doing.

From inside the Crew Office, Kara can hear the echo of Cat’s toe tapping impatiently on the blue metal flooring of the I-95.

_You can probably hear it from bow to stern, since it runs the whole damn ship. I’m so dead…_

Kara looks around to see if she can get away and catches Eve glancing apologetically at her before turning back to answer a question from one of the nervous newbies. Since she has no other business to attend to, Kara excuses herself from the group, and takes a deep breath, pulling a face at the prospect of having to deal with her fuming boss in the hall.

She barely has a toe out of the office when Cat is right in front of her.

“Kiera.”

_Oh shit._

“Cat.”

Cat’s scowl is a sight to behold. “You took your time in there.” Cat cuts Kara off before she can get in a word edgewise, waving anything Kara is going to say with a dismissive hand. “I don’t want to hear your excuse. The port agent informed me that there was some sort of exotic animal causing an issue with your plane, but you should still have been back at the agreed time.”

_Raccoons aren’t… exotic… you know what? Never mind._

“But–”

“But nothing, Karina.” Cat raises an expectant eyebrow before turning to leave. Kara sighs before following behind her boss dutifully, carry-on in tow. She’d have to drop her stuff off in her room later. “Without your capable direction, Kiara, your mediocre dance team just about ruined our last cruise.”

“What?”

_Alex didn’t mention anything happening._

“Nia missed her cue by a beat _and a half_ during the sail away party, and the rest of the cruise was so messy that I’m surprised we didn’t get complaints cards about it.” Cat throws her hands up in the air. “You know I don’t have time to deal with unprofessional dancers when I have an entire cruise ship worth of entertainment to run!”

_Wait, complaint cards are a thing? You have **got** to be joking right now._

“Karen, I need you to get your team in line. You need to get this gear mishap sorted, and your show ready by next cruise. I won’t risk disappointed passengers on our upcoming longer cruises complaining about not seeing the headlining show in the highly publicized aqua theatre.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They’re almost at the medical centre when Eve pokes her torso over the Crew Office counter.

“Oh, Cat, since you’re here, you should meet our new HGM!”

Kara turns to see a serious looking Jess standing by the office door, and has to stifle a grin. Cat walks over briskly.

“Jess Chen, and you are?”

“Cat Grant, the Polaris’ Cruise Director.”

Eve makes eye contact with Kara and smiles like the cat that got the canary, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Wonderful to meet you, Ms. Grant.” Jess’s smile has none of the cheer that Kara had seen back at customs. “Now, I’m not familiar with the lay of the land, so to speak, and would love it if you would be able to talk me through who’s who on my way to my room? And where exactly is my office?”

Kara has trouble holding in a laugh of relief as Cat finds herself walking in step with Jess in the opposite direction.

༄༄༄

Kara has barely opened the door to her closet-sized room when the phone on the desk starts ringing.

“ _Karaaaaaaa!!! You’re alive!_ ”

“Nia! Hi!” At Nia’s voice, Kara can’t help but smile.

“ _We’re all in the crew bar playing foosball, if you wanna come up._ ”

“Lemme just–”

There’s a scuffle over the phone, and Kara laughs as she drags her carry-on towards the desk.

“ _You can unpack later, loser. Come hang out._ ”

Kara rolls her eyes at her older sister. “I’d rather get it done now, so it’s all done when Cat throws me overboard.” Alex laughs as Kara pauses to unlock her bag. “Can you tell everyone that Cat says we need to have the show ready by the start of the next cruise, so we’ve got time to get used to the new harness. It came in, right?”

“ _One sec, lemme check with Winn and Brainy._ ” Alex yells a question out, and Kara can almost make out the response, but Alex is back on almost immediately. “ _Yeah, it’s here. Brainy says it was in the first pallet that arrived this morning, and they’ve already done a preliminary check. It all looks good. They’re just waiting for you for the fit and stuff._ ”

“Awesome! I’ll do that first thing after Cat’s meeting.” Kara pulls out a charger and plugs it into the wall socket. “Oh, and Sam says hi, by the way.”

“ _You saw Sam?_ ” At the mention of her ex… something, Alex’s excitement is palpable. “ _How? How is she? How’s Ruby?_ ”

“She’s great. They’re both great.” Kara’s smile widens at the obvious fondness Alex still holds for Sam. “Did you know she’s corporate now?”

“ _I know, isn’t that amazing!” Kara can hear Alex’s grin through the phone. “I’m so proud of her!_ ”

Kara wedges her phone in between her ear and her shoulder, and starts putting her things away while Alex gushes . There’s another scuffling sound, and then Nia’s back on the phone.

“ _Alex is smiling! Is her face going to break? What the heck did you say to her? I think I heard her giggle!_ ”

“It doesn’t matter. Hey, how much time until the safety drill?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this fic progresses, you’ll notice that random non-English phrases and words have bled into crew speech. You'll also see weird nautical/industry related terms and codenames. You may recognize some of them, you may not, but I’ll explain them down here anyway
> 
>  _Paisano_ → A term to call someone who is from the same country as you. Spanish for “countrymen”.
> 
>  _Embarkation_ → The day when passengers (and crew) get on the cruise ship
> 
>  _Stripes_ → Ship’s officer, named after the stripes found on the shoulders of their uniforms, indicating their rank as a seaman. On cruise ships, there are 3 tiers of employees: crew, staff, and officers. The last of these three have _much_ more employee privileges than the first.
> 
>  _I-95_ → named after Interstate 95 on the East Coast of the USA, the I-95 is the main crew hallway that runs from the front (or bow) of the ship all the way to the back (or stern), and get the most foot traffic during the day.


	4. Ahoy There!

Seven short ear-jarring alarm tones, followed by an equally loud long tone, screech over the shipwide PA system. Kara tugs at her company zip-up hoodie in front of the mirror and takes a deep breath before throwing on a neon yellow ball cap and threading her ponytail through the back. The bright orange life jacket from the top of the closet is grabbed next, and then she’s turning for the door, patting herself down quickly before she heads out.

_Nametag? Check. Uniform? Check. Muster stuff? Check. Keys? …On the desk. Shit._

A quick pivot and lunge, and Kara has her keys in hand before walking briskly to her post. Muster Station C. The lounge area, of all places.

_Please let me get there before Andy! Please!_

The universe is against her, evidently. As always, Andrea is already by the muster station supply box when she gets there, checking the equipment log and testing the walkie talkie. The Argentinian woman greets her with a wide smile that Kara finds difficult to return, and pauses as she holds the passenger card reader out to Kara.

“You’re back!”

“Yup.” Kara pops the P, which has Andrea shaking her head in fond amusement.

_Abort Mission!_

Kara resists the intense urge to fidget at the heat in the other woman’s gaze. She’s completely powerless to resist the way her heart pangs at all the _maybes_ and _might have beens_ that the woman in front of her encapsulates.

“ _Cariño_ , Cat is very mad at you.”

“So I’ve heard!” Kara tugs gently at the card reader, eager to cut their interaction short, but Andrea keeps a firm grip on it. Somewhere in the main lounge area, Kara knows that two of the ship’s photographers are bustling around, moving heavy furniture around in the lounge to make more room for passengers to sit. But when Andrea’s eyes catch hers, the world around them falls away. The little flecks of gold in Andrea’s eyes catch in the lights above them, and Kara knows, knows, that she should be doing… something.

_Abort Fucking Mission!!_

“I missed you, _mi Karazón_.” Andrea moves towards her, eyes already glistening with unshed tears. She looks like she wants to touch her.

Kara’s brows furrow as she lurches backwards, nearly tripping on the doorframe. “Andy, don’t,” she whispers, already wary of the conversation she’s been dreading. She can feel herself curling inwards. Knows from the way Andrea’s face is falling that she can see it too.

_Nia!!! Where are you??!_

“Eliza is well? The surgery went well?” At Andrea’s questions, Kara gives tiny nods. “Good. Good.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I missed you.” Andrea looks away as she shrugs her shoulders. “And I… care about you. A lot.”

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be, Andy.” Kara’s voice is so quiet she can barely hear it over the heavy beat of her heart.

Andrea has no such issue hearing her, however, because her eyes flash angrily. “ _You’re_ the one that ended us!” she hisses, poking at Kara’s chest.

Kara feels her hackles rising, but knows that the patrons will be coming into the lounge any minute now. She can’t make a scene. Cat would kill both of them, then bring them back to life to kill them both again, if she did.

_Deep breath, you can do this, Kara._

“Starting… us... so close to your last cruise was a mistake.” Kara shakes her head, exasperated, tries not to trip all over herself to fix Andrea’s wounded expression like she would have Before.

_This is for the best. It has to be._

“I was going to extend my contract for you, _cariño_.” Andrea breaks their eye contact like Kara broke her heart, to look up and fan at her face to keep from crying. “If they didn’t let me, I would have requested to come back to this ship. You know Cat would have brought me back!”

“I do.” Kara’s smile is pained. “ But I couldn’t let you. You got promoted to StarCruises’ youngest Cruise Director! And, well, I couldn’t let you throw away what you’ve been working so hard for.”

Andrea’s laugh is wet, humorless and sad. “You always have to be the hero, don’t you?”

“I–”

“Oh my God!” Kara sighs with relief as Nia barrels into the back area at full tilt, her eyes panicked. “I’m so sorry I’m late, Andrea, traffic was a _nightmare_.” Nia turns her toothy smile to Kara, who tries not to scoff.

“There’s always a crowd on the Promenade deck, you should know this by now, Nia. You gotta take–”

“The outer decks, I know, I know.”

Andrea quickly turns away to get Nia her scanner. “I don’t want to hear your excuses again, Nia. It doesn’t matter, you’re here now.” Andrea’s tone is clipped and perfectly professional.

With Andrea’s back turned, Nia grimaces and mouths a “sorry” to Kara, who gives the younger girl an eye roll in response.

༄༄༄

“Welcome to Muster Station C!” Kara scans a pair of blue passenger cards robotically and returns them to the young couple in front of her, a show-smile plastered on her face. The duo smile at her as she gestures to the doorway. “You’re in the right place! It’s a little cramped, but–”

“Oh, don’t worry,” the shorter of the two women wink at her. “I’ll sit on her lap!”

Kara’s chuckle is cut off abruptly when the next passenger all but shoves a silver card into her hands.

_Here we go…_

“You know, young lady, this is my 10th cruise! And they always start with this safety drill thing! It’s such an inconvenience, and a horrible way to start off a vacation! I’m sure anyone else who’s a cruise veteran like me would agree that this whole thing is a crock of ho–”

Kara tries to tune out the man already wearing the bright orange lifejacket as she glances quickly over to Nia, who is rolling her eyes so far back into her head that she looks like she’s about to pass out.

_Every fucking cruise, I swear to God._

“Before you enter, Mr…” Kara squints slightly at the cardreader’s screen. “...Lord, you’re going to have to take off your life jacket,” Kara keeps smiling as she waits for the sputtering man to take it off, then gestures for him to enter the lounge.

The next card that is handed to her is black, and Kara dutifully scans it without looking at the name.

The cardholder chuckles, and something in Kara has her pausing to listen. Something about the chuckle is familiar... “Well, he’s a boor, isn’t he?”

Kara looks up, gasping softly in surprise when she recognizes the woman’s voice.

_It can’t be… Can it?_

Familiar dark red lips curl into a dimpled smile as sparkling green eyes meet blue. “Hello, Kara.”

“Lena!”

༄༄༄

“ _Good afternoon, passengers, and welcome aboard the Polaris. On behalf of the crew onboard, we'd like to thank you for choosing to cruise with us! Before we leave for our destination, for your personal safety, and because we're mandated by maritime law, we'll be taking you through a safety drill._ ”

The pre-recorded announcement starts playing over the loudspeaker before Kara is able to say much more to Lena, and with a reluctant smile, Kara waves her into the lounge and hustles to the back to put away the card reader. Seconds later, she's standing in her position, which is thankfully across the lounge from where a dejected Andrea is situated.

She's halfway through silently, exaggeratedly, demonstrating how to secure the lifejacket in front of her, being sure to catch as many unenthused eyes with her sweeping gaze, when she catches Lena's intense stare from the woman's perch on the arm of a nearby leather sofa.

_She's in my section?_

Kara would be lying if she said she’d noticed what Lena had been wearing earlier, as shocked as she was. But now that she’s on autopilot with the safety demo, and with Lena seated so close by, legs crossed at the ankles, fingers fidgeting slightly in her lap, Kara lets her eyes trail over Lena’s person. She takes in the way Lena’s loose dark tank top dips _just so_ , exposing her sternum and a hint of dark ink on her skin. And the way Lena’s crisp pinstripe joggers tighten at her hips before loosening to show that she was still wearing her impeccably shined combat boots, even in the California heat.

There's a beat immediately when their eyes meet, and Kara knows she’s been caught from the way Lena’s cocks her eyebrow. It’s a beat where Kara flounders and misses her cue to gesture like Vanna White at the saline-powered safety beacon. It has Kara scrambling to catch up with the rest of the demonstration while Lena's eyes dance with mirth as she hides a giggle behind her hand. Then there's a second beat, where Kara pulls too hard on the whistle attached to her lifejacket, and her carefully knotted daisy chain fully unravels.

_Whelp…_

Thankfully, it's not long before it’s the passengers' turn to try on their life jackets, and Kara takes the opportunity to speedily re-tie the whistle’s cord while scoping out her section. As usual, when the announcement plays that the demo is over, passengers immediately start filtering out. Kara scopes out one of the other musters from across the lounge, the photographer from earlier, and mimes rearranging the furniture for the bar staff. A nod and a smile is the response she gets, and, knowing that the photographers need to leave, she moves to the nearest marble side table, trying to remember where it goes.

Nia sidles up next to her, bending over to help her push it with a grunt of exertion. “Another successful, _geez_ , safety drill crossed off.”

Kara grunts in agreement.

“So frickin’ heavy, oh my _GOD_.” They get it in place, and as one unit, move to the next piece of furniture.

“Need a hand?”

Kara looks up too quickly and gawks at Lena. Gapes, really, mouth flapping like a fish out of water, because the way the California sun is lighting Lena from behind makes her glow like an otherworldly being.

_The number you have dialed is currently not available, please try again later_

“We’re okay, thanks though!” Nia wanders over next to Kara, surreptitiously elbowing her in the ribs.

“Right!” Kara feels like a bobblehead doll, the way her head is nodding. “We do this all the time, right Nia?”

Nia nods once, smirking at Kara, and saunters over to a misplaced armchair across the lounge.

Kara goes to follow, but stills when she feels Lena’s hand on her elbow, turning to face her. Lena chews on her bottom lip, eyes cutting to the side to where Nia has wandered off to.

“I… noticed that, uh… You’re pretty good with your knots, aren’t you?”

_Error 404, brain not found_

Kara splutters, unsure of what to say. Lena just points at the cord of the whistle on Kara’s lifejacket.

“Oh, that old thing?” Kara’s high pitched giggle is jarring, even to her own ears. “Oh, that’s, like, barely a, um–”

Nia clears her throat expectantly from across the lounge, and Lena drops Kara’s elbow like it’s a hot iron. “Right, I should leave you to it, I’m sure you’re busy.”

Kara watches Lena execute a crisp about-face before stalking out of the lounge without another word.

“Hey, Kara, _vamonos_! We’ve got Cat’s pre-sail meeting to get to still!” Nia’s feet tap on the ground impatiently.

“Yeah, I’ll… I’ll be there.”

Despite her words, Kara watches until Lena’s out of sight before shaking her head slightly to herself and turning to go help Nia out.

༄༄༄

The entire entertainment staff is in the aqua theatre, because it’s a beautiful sunny day and because, well, it’s closed to the public until Kara’s team is ready for shows.

“–which needs to happen at least once before the end of this cruise.” Cat’s standing on the steps leading up to the seats, while her staff are seated below on the stage.

A murmur ripples through her team, and Kara makes a noise of discontent which, unfortunately, carries to Cat’s ear.

“Is there a problem with that, Team Superfriends?”

“I thought–” Kara makes eye contact with Andrea, who is standing slightly behind and to the side of her boss, and watches her eyes widen slightly in warning. Kara sighs internally, resigned. “No, nothing’s wrong with that, Cat.”

“Good. See to it that everything’s in working order. If it’s not, you run it anyway.” The stair isn’t very wide, but Cat begins to stalk back and forth on it anyway, a lioness in too small of a cage. “The rest of you are nearly passable. I don’t want you to be complacent with passable, however, because we should always be striving for excellence. We all know that the Polaris is StarShip Cruises’ flagship cruiseliner.”

Collectively, the entertainment staff mumble their assent.

“Well, I have it on good authority from the new HGM, Ms. Chen, that there is someone from the new corporate upper management onboard.” Cat pauses dramatically, and turns to face her audience. “It’s clear we’re being audited.”

She lets her words sink in, waits for some crewmembers to explain what she means to their neighbours, before continuing. “This means you each must be on your best behaviour. I will not tolerate any slip ups. So this means no late nights at the crew bar, no heavy drinking on excursions, no wasting time in passenger areas when you should be practicing, no conversing at length with passengers.”

Cat glares down at Mon-El, who shifts uncomfortably. “And, to be more specific, no fraternizing with passengers. We don’t know who the suit is. We can’t trust anyone onboard.”

Cat pauses again to let the information digest, before asking for questions. Beside Nia, Brainy moves to raise his hand, and Kara sees Cat roll her eyes.

“That was clearly rhetorical. I have to get to the sail away ceremony, and I’m sure some of you have responsibilities as well. If you have questions, ask your team captains.” Cat turns, walking up the stairs to the exit, Andrea following two steps behind. Slowly, the other entertainment staff filter out until the only ones left in the aqua theatre are Kara’s team of performers.

Kara pulls herself to her feet, and shrugs defeatedly. “I know that this puts us on a faster timeline than we expected, but you heard the woman.” She rolls her eyes at their various groans, but smiles when they start to get up and stretch. “So, ten minutes, then let’s just do a run-through of some of the floor work, since we also need to clean the sail away party choreo.” She makes eye contact with Winn and Brainy, and gestures with her head up towards the tech booth. It was time to get a good look at the new halo harness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Cariño_ → Spanish for “cute”; a petname
> 
>  _Mi Karazón_ → A punny version of “Mi Corazón”, which is Spanish for “My Heart”
> 
>  _Passenger Card_ → A plastic card that plays the role of passenger identification, wallet, room key, and much much more. On some cruise lines, like in this fic, the colour of the card indicates the loyalty level of the cruiser.
> 
>  _Muster Safety Drill_ → All individuals who are aboard a cruise ship must learn the protocol in the very rare case of needing to Abandon Ship. Prior to the wreck of the Costa Concordia, this did not need to happen at any particular time, but since then, Maritime Law dictates that it be done within a certain number of nautical miles from the embarkation port. Many cruise lines just decided to make it part of pre-flight procedures, so to speak.
> 
>  _Vamonos_ → Spanish for “Let’s Go”


	5. Anchors Away

Usually, it doesn’t take long for Kara’s to get back into the swing of things. Usually, time almost immediately starts to blur together into port days, sea days, and embarkation days, and when her team is scheduled to perform. Kara thrives on the routine of it, and is always ready to jump right back into the thick of it.

They always dance as part of the sail away deck party. The team always spends most of their working hours practicing and perfecting their show. Winn always asks if anyone wants to play videogames with him to wind down for the evening, and James and Brainy are always the only ones willing to take him up on his offer. There are always fresh donuts at the crew mess at 2 pm. There’s always some stupid crazy late night rager at least once a cruise in the crew bar or the officer’s lounge that Kara ends up regretting in the morning, especially when the ship is super rocky. Alex always harasses the team into joining her at the steakhouse for dinner at least once a month. Kara always goes up to the passenger eateries after their dinner rush to snag some delicious food, or to the passenger gym for the better equipment there. Mon-El can always be found smoking in the designated smoking areas on the deck, or in the crew bar, a new girl hanging off his arm every night. This is nothing new, and Kara loves how predictable it is.

But as this cruise starts, something feels off.

It probably has something to do with the fact that Kara finds herself ducking around corners or hiding when she hears a certain lilting Argentinian voice, much to Alex’s eternal amusement. Or the fact that Kara feels unsteady in the new halo harness; it’s too rigid, and Kara is worried that she won’t be able to get the right angle or momentum on her midair twists, which can’t be hidden once she’s suspended above the crowd. Or that she’s nauseous, and still getting her sea legs back, after her short stint on land. Or the fact that Cat’s stress is contagious, and now Kara can’t help but regard every passenger with suspicion. Or the fact that she keeps hearing constant murmurs about new management and coming structural overhauls coming from every department, every crew member, whenever she’s in crew-only spaces.

Or the fact that she can’t stop thinking about Lena.

Lena, who is one of over 2000 passengers, a drop in the bucket in terms of people onboard. Lena, who is a passenger, who she knows she can’t blur any lines with. Lena, who she has spent less than 24 full hours getting to know, and who has always wormed her way into her thoughts. Lena, who is too friendly, too kind, too much of a distraction.

༄༄༄

It starts at the sail away deck party, soon after the sun sets on the day they set sail.

Somewhere closer to the screen, Kara’s favourite live band onboard, The Legends, is playing some high octane disco cover. Sara is somehow both dancing with Alex and singing into the microphone. The audience is loving it, almost as much as they are loving the fact that they are now in international waters, and alcohol is now flowing freely.

Like Alex and the rest of the team, Kara’s decked out in a satirical attempt at an officer uniform; it’s a backless and bedazzled sleeveless jumpsuit, and every time she wears it, she wants to laugh. She’s leading the thick crowd of passengers near her in simple choreography in time with the disco music, a wide smile on her face, when she feels a hot gaze on her back. During her next choreographed spin, she sees that the crowd under the upper decks has thinned. Lena’s there, though, with an enigmatic expression on her face, leaning against a thin column by the bar, eyes trained on Kara as she finds herself half a beat late for a clap.

Kara can’t shake the heat of Lena’s gaze as it stays on her for the rest of the night.

༄༄༄

The next time she sees Lena is less than a day later. Sea Day 1, traditionally the night of their first performance, but they’re not ready yet (Kara’s not ready yet). Kara pushes the team to their limits, and they’re all exhausted. At one point, either Cat or Andrea wanders in to watch their practice, but Kara’s rigged up in the halo harness, high above the team, practicing her rolling flips, and whoever it is, doesn't stay long.

After the practice, Kara is glad that Alex has reservations for them at the steakhouse. She showers, bypasses her preferred button ups for a random formal dress, and spends a silly amount of time primping in the mirror before Alex pounds on her bedroom door.

“Kara! Let’s go!”

It takes Kara two steps to get from her bed to the door, and throws it open to see Nia, Brainy, Winn, and Kelly with her sister, who is scowling at her. “What?”

“I’m hungry, and I _know_ you’re hungry, so let’s go!”

Kara rolls her eyes fondly before reaching over to grab her keys and nametag, securing it to her dress. “Fine, whatever.”

They joke loudly with each other until they reach the door to the passenger areas, and, as usual, Brainy turns to remind them to be quieter before they start making their way to the steakhouse in a more subdued way.

They’re just being seated at their table in the ambiently lit restaurant when Nia leans over Brainy to lightly elbow Kara and points to Lena, who’s seated in one of the nearby booths, alone except for a glass of red wine and the remnants of her lobster tail.

“Isn’t that the passenger who stayed after the safety demo? Go say hi!”

Kara balks at the idea, blushing and laughing it off, which has Lena looking up at the commotion with an inquisitive eyebrow. Her hesitant smile transforms into a friendlier one when she sees Kara and her friends, and she gives them a shy wave.

Winn fans himself jokingly as Alex turns around to look at who has her sister blushing so hard. “She’s _hot_!” He smirks at Kara. “Where do you know her from? Do you know if she’s single?”

Kara chokes on her water, barely holding back a spit-take.

Alex whips back around, narrowing her eyes at both Winn and her sister. “Winn!”

“What?” He shrugs, amused. “It’s just a question!”

Kara closes her eyes and rubs her temple. “You know that won’t fly, Winn. Especially when Cat is being all...” Kara gestures awkwardly, and her sister nods in agreement.

Brainy pipes up from beside Nia, “If I may remind everyone, it is against company policy to have any type of relations with passengers, regardless of Cat’s current mood.” He opens his menu, as if he wouldn’t be having his usual entree. “It could result in the termination of your employment.”

Winn sighs, leaning on his hand, before winking at Kara. “A girl can dream, though…”

_You got that right… wait what?_

Luckily for Kara, Davor distracts Winn from his musings when he wanders over to take their order.

༄༄༄

Kara’s laughing at Winn’s impersonation of a disappointed Cat when she feels a light tap on her shoulder. From across the table, Alex narrows her eyes, and when Kara turns, a sheepish looking Lena is standing behind her, worrying her hands.

“I… thought I’d come over and say hi before heading out…”

“Oh, gosh, hey Lena!” Kara grins up at her, “Fancy seeing you here! You look… fantastic!”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Danvers.” Kara’s brain goes a little fuzzy when she watches Lena’s red lips twitch upwards slightly. 

Winn nudges her, and Kara jerks back into herself. Flustered, she rushes the introductions around the table, ending with Alex.

“Oh yes, I remember you telling me about Alex!” Lena waves awkwardly. “It’s lovely to meet you all.”

Kara catches Alex’s inquisitive glance. “We met last week when our flight was cancelled.”

“Oh, cool.” Alex nods. “That’s… not my question though. I…” Alex tilts her head inquisitively. “Have we met?”

Lena shakes her head with a laugh. “I just have one of those faces.”

Alex’s eyebrows furrow, confused. Beside Kara, Winn suddenly claps his hands in excitement. “You look like Eva Green!” At Alex’s continued confusion, Winn gasps, appalled. “You know, the actress?”

Alex shakes her head, not following.

“You’re killing me, Big Danvers!”

Brainy offers Alex a lifeline. “The Bond Girl, in Casino Royale.”

Alex finally makes the connection, and nods emphatically. “Oh my god, she does!” There’s a slight pause, where Alex thinks a bit, then, “Oh! Or the librarian from the Mummy!”

“Rachel Weisz?” Winn looks back to Lena, scrutinizing her face. “I could see that.”

Kelly shakes her head, laughing. “You two are such dorks.”

Alex leans into her side. “You love it.” Kelly nods, rolling her eyes fondly.

Lena looks on in amusement and what looks a little like relief, before turning back to Kara. “I… should probably get going, there was a movie I wanted to catch under the stars that’s supposed to start in a bit.”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds like fun!” Kara beams at her. “You should definitely get there early, get a good spot.”

Lena takes a step back, but lingers, looking at Kara through her lashes. “Maybe I’ll see you later?”

“Gosh, that’d be, uh, swell!” Kara hears a snort from her table, but refuses to acknowledge her team. “I’ll be around, yeah!”

Lena smirks as she turns to go, and Kara eyes follow her as she leaves.

Nia breaks the silence with a teasing, “Gosh! That’d be, uh, _swell_!”

Alex or Winn fail to hold in a chuckles as Kara rolls her eyes. “Shut up, Nia.”

༄༄༄

During practice the next day, after they return from her favorite secluded oasis near Cabo’s cruise port, where the sun had beaten down on her skin and soaked into her soul, Kara knows she’s not ready to perform for passengers. She also knows that Cat knows it. This is what Kara concludes when Cat volunteers her entire team for in-port manning in Mazatlan the next day, and some sort of mandated HR training.

“Use this time wisely. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck onboard in Puerto Vallarta too.” Cat’s haughty gaze flicks over the troop, silencing any naysayers. Her eyes shoot daggers at Kara specifically before she sweeps out of the theatre.

_She’s always so dramatic, geez!_

Mon-el glares at Kara throughout the rest of practice, but Kara is well practiced at ignoring the slackliner. She’s not able to shake the guilt, though. What remnants of the earlier Riviera sun in Kara’s heart fade away as practice begins. The reason the team couldn’t leave the confined housing was because of her. The rest of them were more than ready to move forward with the show.

Practice goes horribly.

_I’ve failed them, all of them. I don’t know what I’m even doing here…_

Kara’s still caught up in the harness after practice ends. She can’t seem to get the clips to disengage, and as she fumbles with everything, her eyes start to swim with tears.

_They deserve better than me. Why I’m dance captain, no one kno–_

“Hey!”

Kara whips around, and gets a face full of damp, balled-up sock, courtesy of one Alexandra Danvers.

“You’re in your head again! Get outta your head!”

Kara gets a whiff of the sock as it falls, and has to fight down her gag reflex. Alex just watches, amused, several bare-feet away.

_Oh god, that’s disgusting, oh geez!_

“You’re so gross.” Kara scowls as she continues to pluck at the belt.

“Bite me.”

“No thanks, you ass.”

“You and I both know that the more you get in your head, the more your shtick isn’t going to work! Besides, IPM isn’t so bad.” Kara rolls her eyes, as her sister saunters over and throws an arm around her shoulder. “You’ll have all the time in the world to do whatever grounding thingy you do, and this just means we get first dibs on 2pm donuts in the crew mess.”

_Alex has a point there… those donuts are pretty great…_

Kara sniffles, rubbing at her eyes, and nods. Not even two seconds later, the harness finally comes loose, and Kara takes it off.

“C’mon, I’m starving. Let’s get outta here and get some passenger buffet food or something. My treat!” Alex pulls Kara closer with a tight squeeze before making grabby hands.

“Oh, yeah, I’m down!” Kara hands her the halo harness, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet in excitement, before she registers Alex’s words. “Wait a second… it’s free!”

Alex smirks as she goes backstage to put it away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Officer’s Lounge_
> 
> → A lounge that is _technically_ for the sole use of officers on board, although staff are often allowed inside (if the officers allow it… they often allow it, because, well, officers get horny and staff usually has a more even ratio of women to men). The Officer’s Lounge has its own dedicated bartender-in-training in the evening, as well as better upholstery and windows (a rare commodity in crew areas). There’s also often foosball tables, darts, board games, an electric piano, and, for some strange reason, a badly attached pole dancing pole.
> 
> Of the three previously explained tiers of cruise ship employees, only staff and officers are allowed in passenger areas and using passenger facilities, such as the passenger buffet, the shops, etc, on their off times. In the cruise line I worked on, this is also only allowed if the area is not busy. Staff & officers also had to be wearing their uniforms or formal wear, and their name tags always had to be visible when in passenger areas.
> 
> Also, the show Kara’s troupe is performing is more or less based on the HiRo show that shows on the Symphony of the Seas, even though I didn’t sail with Royal Carribean.


	6. Carp Diem - Seas the Day

Despite not setting an alarm the morning they dock in Mazatlan, Kara still startles awake to the cacophony of the dropping anchor. A glance at the magnetic alarm clock Kara has on the wall by her head tells her that it is way too early to be awake on an IPM day.

_Fucking anchor… every time, I swear to God._

Kara sighs, and flops over on the bed, shutting her eyes in a desperate attempt at more sleep, despite knowing that it’s no use. Her plans to sleep in have been thwarted.

She’s up so early that the staff mess food service isn’t open yet, so she throws on her company tracksuit over some athletic wear and grabs her nametag. The crew mess will have some random mix of breakfast-adjacent food at this hour, and an attempt at coffee.

As expected, Kara’s one of the few crewmembers awake, other than the deck officers and their crew. On her way to the crew mess, she sees the security team and whatever poor group of photographers is assigned to set up a photo spot at the bottom of the gangway. One of them, mid-yawn, sleepily greets Kara by name, and Kara grins and responds in kind. When asked why she’s up so early, Kara makes a weak attempt at a joke about early birds, which has the other photographers smiling wanly.

_It’s too frikken’ early for this shit._

At the crew mess, Kara snags stale croissants, some hard boiled eggs, a banana, and some lukewarm potato wedges while trying not to wrinkle her nose at the tray of mystery meat swimming in a strange dark brown sauce. While sometimes the food in the mess has attempts at cultural foods that smell delicious, this one… leaves much to be desired. She takes one sip of her coffee before abandoning it with a wince.

_How does the crew put up with this type of food every other day? Honestly…_

Her next stop is the passenger cafe, where she happily asks M’gann for a double espresso on ice, bouncing slightly on her toes in excitement. M’gann smirks at her, amused, as she hands Kara her caffeine to go.

Kara takes a whiff of her cup and smiles in contentment. “Bless you, M’gann. You’re a godsend!” It’s finished in less than 10 seconds, and then she’s bounding off to her second destination, the passenger gym. Alex had been right last night, Kara needs to get rid of the stupid amount of nervous energy she has thrumming through her body, and she knows just where to do it.

She expects the gym to be dead. They’ve just arrived at a beautiful new destination, people are on vacation, and the sun is still slowly climbing over the horizon. No one in their right mind should be in the gym…

Except someone is. Someone familiar to Kara, in form fitting tights, and her dark hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, that Kara only sees when she pushes open the door to the gym. Lena’s t-shirt sticks to her back slightly, and there’s a light sheen of perspiration on her skin as she uses the rowing machine. In the early morning light, Lena looks like she’s glowing.

_Jesus fuck, that should be illegal!_

Kara swallows audibly, and curses under her breath as the door to the gym slams closed, causing Lena to turn towards her. Kara’s greeted with a warm smile and a distant nod, and she swallows down her more effusive greeting in favor of being professional. She nods back towards Lena before heading to the open area of the small passenger gym. She plugs in her earbuds, straps on some ankle weights, grabs a weighted jump rope, and goes to town, pump up jams (and her back to Lena) helping her focus. The rhythmic thwap of the rope on the ground is almost meditative, and before too much time passes, Kara pauses to strip off her top layer, leaving her in a sleeveless crop top and shorts.

Over her music, she thinks she hears some sort of commotion by where she’d last seen Lena. She doesn’t look, _can’t_ look, because she needs to stay focused, needs to get in the zone, needs to get ready for the show. With Lena looking like an unattainable snack, Kara definitely can’t look over to see what happened.

After her warm up, Kara towels off as she wanders over to the weight plates. She grabs the 40lb plate with one hand as she grabs a dip belt with another. There’s a pause, then, between songs, and Kara hears a sort of faint choked sound. When she glances at Lena, the other woman has stopped rowing. Her green eyes are wide and almost panicked looking, and there’s a rosiness to her cheeks that Kara attributes to exertion. She raises an eyebrow in concern, mouthing and miming, “you okay?” to her new gym buddy, “cramps?”

Somehow, Lena’s eyes widen even more, and she nods stiffly and shoots Kara a thumbs up before taking a long pull from her water bottle. Kara smiles, glad that Lena’s fine, before crossing back over towards the pull up bar, attaching the weight to the dip belt on her waist as she goes.

The pull up bar gives Kara an easy view to Lena’s mouth flopping open when she easily hops up and does her first chin up, weight dangling between her bent legs. The other woman has stilled completely, and–

_What’s she doin– Oh!_

Kara holds in a smirk. Now that she knows that Lena is watching her, it takes everything in her to not flex and show off. For her to just continue her reps, and stay in the zone. For her to ignore the heated stare Lena is levelling at her, now that her rowing has been completely forgotten in favor of openly ogling Kara.

༄༄༄

It’s Cat’s voice suddenly sounding out over the loudspeaker with information about the port, an unknown amount of time later that has Kara pausing, suddenly aware of how sore she feels, how light she feels in her body (once the weights have been removed from her ankles, wrists and waist) and in her soul. She feels settled, somehow, in herself. She saunters back over to the open area, and winds down with some stretches, knowing that she’ll have to contact the sous chef, Jasper, to schedule a cheap massage soon. Lena’s also there, and looks asleep in her savasana, but when she feels Kara’s steps, she squints an eye open to see who’s there. Her eyes close again when Kara flops onto the floor nearby, legs splayed.

Kara smiles, even if Lena can’t see it, and leans over to touch her toes. “Hello, stranger! You’re up early!”

Lena murmurs back a hello, followed by, “I woke up at one point and couldn’t get back to sleep, I guess.”

Kara groans as she feels something in her back release. “That’s the worst thing!”

Lena hums softly in agreement. “Enough about me, though. How about you? Come here often?”

“Mmm… not so much...” Kara pauses, content in the sudden stillness. The ship isn’t moving, the machinery isn’t doing its constant hum. With the doors of the gym closed, even the waves aren’t audible. She hasn’t felt this since she and Alex had heard about Eliza’s health scare; it’s a nice feeling to have back. “There’s a crew gym that’s not too bad, I guess. I usually go there, though the passenger gym is way nicer.” Kara waggles her eyebrows. “Gotta keep myself shipshape!”

Lena chuckles, before purring out, “I bet this gym has a much better view.”

Kara laughs, before reaching for her other foot. She forces herself to think of the dim, windowless crew gym. Forces herself not to think of the woman lying next to her. “You could say that.”

༄༄༄

A freshly showered Kara is hustling back across the ship to get her lunch in before the HR meeting when she sees a familiar head of dark hair and familiar combat boots by the crew notice board… where they’re not supposed to be.

“Lena?” Lena whirls around, startled by Kara’s voice, and smiles. “Oh, Kara! Hey!” Her green eyes flash slightly with some emotion that Kara can’t read.

“Not that I’m not glad to see you, but this area is crew only.”

“Right!” Lena’s face flits through several emotions too quickly for Kara to read before it settles into a disarmingly self-deprecating grin that doesn’t quite make it to her eyes. “That explains the–” Lena gestures around them at the I-95, with its bright white walls and industrial looking diamond plate patterned steel flooring, painted a bright blue. It’s a stark contrast to the guest areas, with its plush carpet, marble tiling, luxurious wooden interiors, and ambient lighting, so how she didn’t notice, Kara had no idea. “I was just looking for the ga– the way down to the port and must have gotten turned around or something.”

“The gangway?”

Lena nods, blushing slightly. “Yes. That thing.” Green eyes dart to the left slightly as she laughs under her breath. “This contraption is so big, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find my way around.”

“Oh, I can walk you, if you’d like. To the gangway. So you don’t get lost again?”

Lena’s eyes harden and it almost looks like her lips want to pull into a glower before they twitch into a half-smile. “Oh, I don’t want to put you through the trouble.”

Kara shrugs, grinning. “It’s no biggie.”

Lena’s smile grows, acquiescing. This time, the smile reaches her eyes. “If you’re sure it’s not an inconvenience.”

Kara nods. “I’m sure.” They walk about ten paces down the hallway, and then Kara tugs open the door leading to the gangway. “You weren’t too far off!”

Lena places a hand on Kara’s bicep and squeezes lightly, her thanks coming out slightly huskily.

Kara squeaks, cheeks bright and flushed, and watches as Lena is scanned off the ship.

The security guard there raises an eyebrow at her before pursing her lips and nodding. “I agree.”

Kara rolls her eyes. “Shut up, Linda.”

_Whatever._

༄༄༄

Over lunch, Nia and Alex weasel her into telling them how she bumped into Lena twice in the span of about 4 hours. Apparently Linda had said something to Valentina, who had mentioned to Maggie, who told Alex how Kara had escorted a beautiful passenger to the gangway.

“Don’t get too attached,” Alex warns, pointing a forkful of pickled beets at Kara. Her face is serious for once. “And don’t do anything stupid. That’s your job on the line.” Kara waves off her concern.

_Thanks Alex, I hadn’t thought of that._

“Also, what type of woman that looks like that goes on a cruise by herself, anyway?” Alex shrugs at the frown Kara turns her way. “What? I’m just asking… I mean, what if she’s the suit?”

“Wait. Didn’t Linda mention that the beautiful passenger lady squeezed your biceps?” Nia reaches across the table and squeezes hard. Her eyes widen slightly in surprise when Kara flexes on instinct, before she takes a napkin and plays at fanning herself. “ _Oh_ , I totally get it now.”

“I hate both of you,” Kara mutters as she shoves her last bite of rice and chicken adobo into her mouth. She gets up, taking her plate to the dirty dishes bucket. “Come on, we don’t wanna be late for training or whatever.”

༄༄༄

Kara is mortified to find out that the HR training that her team is voluntold to do is about appropriate conduct with passengers. Her face feels hot and her pulse is racing, especially with Nia’s elbows constantly jabbing into her side and the way she can practically feel Alex’s knowing stare.

_Oh my god, what even is happening?_

Luckily, the training wraps up just in time for Kara and Alex to be first in line for fresh crew mess donuts. Kara fills an entire plate, and they settle in at a table in the corner, a ways away from the louder food service area.

The first bite Kara takes of a classic glazed donut, still slightly warm from the fryer, has her moaning. “Theesh ar alwaysh sho good!!”

Alex shakes her head. “Sorry, I don’t speak neanderthal.”

Kara swallows. “These are so good!”

Alex nods, and nearly says something when a table of half-stripe officers nearby start raising their voices.

“A lady captain?”

“She starts next cruise, too.”

“Fuck that, girls at sea is bad luck.”

The table raucously agrees with the statement. Kara cocks an eyebrow and looks over at Alex, who’s eyes have turned steely. Kara stuffs the rest of the donut in her mouth before she makes a scene, and reaches for another one. To her utter dismay, it tastes like ash.

One of the engineers scoffs. “What is she going to order us to do, paint our finger nails?” Laughter erupts from the table, several of his mates slapping him in the back.

“I bet she doesn’t even know how to read a compass!”

Alex clenches her jaw, shaking her head as Kara glares at them, fuming.

_What I wouldn’t give to be able to fry these assholes with laser vision or something._

“I bet she’s great in b–”

One of the engineers at the rowdy table notices the icy glare from Kara and Alex, and shushes his coworkers before changing the topic to the latest international cricket match.

Kara sighs, appetite gone. She grabs several napkins, wrapping up her share of the donuts, before telling Alex she’d see her at practice in an hour.

༄༄༄

Kara calls Eliza, in the hour she has before practice, after Eliza’s follow up appointment at the hospital. A knot that has been sitting heavily in her stomach loosens when Eliza gives her the good news that everything is progressing incredibly well, and that her recovery has been smooth. The call ends with Kara speaking nonsense over the phone to Krypto, and then telling Eliza she’d pass on her love to Alex.

She gets to the aqua stage several minutes early, only to be bombarded by Winn excitedly yammering on about something on her halo harness that hadn’t been greased properly. How he’d found it and greased it literally five minutes ago, and how it’s smoother than the old one ever was.

Unsurprisingly, practice goes flawlessly. Strapped into her halo harness in midair, Kara lets go. She stops thinking about everything, and lets her body execute the flips and turns. Lets herself fly.

Cat finds her that evening, in the dark of the officer’s lounge watching a rousing game of foosball between Mon-El and Winn (and ignoring a very tipsy Lucy on the pole in the corner). “It’s good to have you back, Kiera.”

Kara ducks her head sheepishly, thanking her.

The older woman’s eyes shine with pride as she tips her short glass of amber liquid towards Kara’s taller, darker glass, clinking them together. “To the show in two days. _Salud_.”

“ _Salud_.” Kara raises her glass to her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Adobo_ → (More specifically, Filipino Adobo) A cooking method that has food simmered or stewed in a savoury sauce. Some consider it a contestant for the national dish of the Philippines. 
> 
> _Salud_ → Spanish for “Cheers”
> 
> Yes, stale breakfast croissants and fresh 2pm donuts are (sometimes) a real thing. So is the outdated superstition that women are bad luck on ships. So are chefs/other less well-paid crew members having crew-only side hustles, like massage. Other side hustles include noodle runs, hair cuts, room cleaning, and laundry. Usually, these are done so that these individuals would have more money to send home to their families.


	7. Sink or Swim

Kara leans on the low stone wall of Puerto Vallarta’s boardwalk, watching and laughing as Alex, Nia and Winn bicker over who’s going next on the swing over the oceanfront boardwalk. Above them, a gigantic cartoonish cow hovers, suspended, from the high ceilings of a nightclub, a to-go cup in its hooves.

“Hurry up! I’m hungry!”

Nia flips her off, distracted, as she pulls Winn away from step up to the bar. “You’re always hungry!”

“Yeah, but this place isn’t even open for food, and you’re all going to want more pictures with all the statues and stuff, and the grill I wanna go to is, like, past all of those.”

Alex pauses, her palm holding Winn back by his face. “That’s almost at the bridge, right? By the artisan market?”

Kara nods, imagining the delicious flavor of seasoned skewers of shrimp. The way the lime wedges she’ll be provided with accentuate the flavor of the coal fire and the red marinade. She’s salivating just thinking of it.

“Yeah, no, I’m not going that far, even for delicious food. I wanna swim! And I want cerveza!” Alex jumps back into the fray as Winn swipes at her. “Go yourself or something!”

“But Alex!!” Kara whines playfully. “Stranger danger! What would Eliza say?”

Alex sighs, rolling her eyes. “Fine. Give us five minutes, okay?”

Kara bounces on the balls of her feet, excited for food.

“But we’re going to get food somewhere else. If we make it to the grill later, fine.”

_But shrimp on a stick!_

Kara pouts, but obligingly takes some pictures as they swing above her head.

༄༄༄

One of Kara’s favourite places to be is beside the ocean. It’s been that way since she moved in with the Danvers’ house, after her parents had passed away. The sea is bigger than she is; it’s deeper, older, more volatile, and yet, somehow, it brings her peace. When she’s by the sea, her worries, problems, existence seem small in comparison.

When Kara was younger, when storms would cause the waves to thunder against the shore, Kara would go as close as she dared, and _scream_ at… God? Fate? The universe? Kara never knew, but those were some of the only days she felt safe enough to let out all her pain. Those storms, though, were less often than the calmer days, when Kara would float in the salty water, with her eyes closed, and let the rocking of the waves lull her into a meditative space of nothingness.

Puerto Vallarta’s beach isn’t the same as back home in Midvale. For one, the sun hits differently south of the border, it seems. The sun hits Kara's face with more passion here, and reflects off the water in a playful way that it just doesn't in Northern California. The shoreline also isn't usually as calm as in Midvale, what with the Mexican port city being a major global tourist attraction. It's usually teeming with life and colour and sound, but today, it’s much more still. The ocean is surprisingly peaceful, and the crowds seem to be less thick than earlier in the season. There’s the odd muffled squeal of a young child, and thumping bass from a speaker somewhere in the distance, but it’s not hard for Kara to ignore those in favor of the way the sun beats down on her face, warming her deep into her soul, or the comfort of waves lapping up against her skin.

Something bumps into her softly, and Kara feels a splash of the water beside her. Kara cracks an eye open, blinking at the sudden intrusion of sunlight, and turns to see Lena’s bobbing beside her, straddling a surfboard.

Kara rights herself, and shakes her head to clear some of the saltwater that has collected in her ears. “Hey you!”

“What a nice surprise!” Lena grins, dark ocean-green eyes sparkling with the reflection of the sun on the water. Her face is soft, open, and free of make up. Kara’s heart tugs at the sight.

_She’s so beautiful_

–especially with the way beads of ocean water cling to her eyelashes, the way the crows feet by her eyes crinkle as she smiles, or the way some tendrils of dark hair stick to her face. Kara flounders, because–

_I wish I could cling to her the way her wetsuit does._

–she’s tried so hard to stay away from this woman.

_I wish I could caress her body the way the waves do._

But somehow, every time Lena is in her vicinity, she’s drawn in again.

_Something tells me she wouldn’t be against it._

_Something tells me she wants it as much as I do._

Kara blinks, pushing herself back slightly as the waves try to push them together. They’re too close, and Kara is the one that will be held responsible if something happens between them. A flicker of disappointment crosses Lena’s eyes as her grin softens into a shy smile.

Kara’s heart is pulling her one way, but her head, which sounds like a combination of Cat and Alex, says another. Echoes of words said over the last several days, like “ _She’s the suit,_ ” and “ _No fraternizing with passengers_ ” and “ _That’s your job on the line_ ” swim to the front of her consciousness.

“Do anything interesting on shore?” Kara asks, instead of reaching for the dark haired woman in front of her. Instead of pulling her close, lifting her out of the water, and kissing her, like some sort of romantic movie. She aims for terse and clipped, but lands somewhere closer to soft and wistful.

“I went by the archaeological museum earlier. Stopped by a small seafood vendor for some ceviche and grilled shrimp–”

“Oh my god! Over the bridge?” Lena nods at Kara’s sudden interruption. “I wanted to go there today!” Kara shoots a glare at the shore, where Alex is. “Their shrimp is the best.”

Lena chuckles. “I also went to the naval museum over that way,” Lena points towards the distant arches on the boardwalk. “It was pretty nice, actually.”

“Oh?” Kara knows the museum. She had accompanied Brainy there once, and hadn’t quite understood his excitement over the miniature boats and ships, but to each their own.

“Mmhmm. Good coffee, too.” Lena smirks, and Kara throws her head back as she laughs.

“You’re one of those museum-going history-junkie tourists, aren’t you?”

“Maybe…” Lena ducks her head to hide her slight blush, and Kara’s heart goes into overdrive. “What about you?”

Kara looks back towards the shore, where her crew have given up on swimming in favor of lounging on towels and playing catch with a floating ball.

“We just kinda wandered, I guess. Typical touristy things, like eating, window shopping in the artisan market… taking touristy photos by all the statues.” Kara shrugs. “I think we’re all just relaxing before the show tomorrow.” She looks back over to Lena, eager. “Will you be there?”

Lena’s answering smile warms Kara’s heart more than the sun could ever hope to. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

༄༄༄

The next afternoon, Andrea’s on the loudspeaker giving the daily update. Somewhere, in the back of her head, Kara’s proud of herself for not flinching the moment she hears Andrea’s voice. Proud of herself for not ruining the makeup she’s applying for the show. Instead, she listens to her inform the entire ship that the ship’s radar has registered a sudden storm close by.

“ _But, lovely passengers, there’s no need to worry! The captain tells me he’s going to plot a course around it, and has his officers keeping an eye on the weather._ ”

She knows what this means; the waves are going to be choppy. And, with the ship at the mercy of the ocean’s whims, the stage won’t be steady, and they’ll need to be on their A-game.

_We can do this. We’ve performed in worse weather._

Alex makes eye contact from across the room, and gives Kara a wavering, tight lipped smile.

_Shit. If Alex is nervous, then everyone will be…_

Kara does what she does best, and calls her team in for a pre-show pep talk, drawing on her heroic character to instill her team with unwavering confidence.

༄༄༄

From her hiding place by the sound booth, Kara watches with pride as James and Lucy pull off their most dangerous trick. As Alex pulls off a dive that has the audience gasping. As J’onn and Maggie face off against each other, on “opposing teams”.

Winn slips over to her, quiet as a mouse, and tugging at the connections for her harness before giving her a thumbs up. “Your cue’s coming up. Break a leg!”

Kara nods, returns his proffered fistbump, and psychs herself up.

_Deep breaths. Stay out of your head, Kara. You got this._

The music swells, and then the lights cut, except for the last remnants of the setting sun on the horizon, and two spotlights that focus on an empty stage. A smattering of applause, as always, cuts through the crowd. Kara shakes herself out a bit and silently slips out into the dark aisle between the top row of seats. As always, she glances to the sides, to see if she’s given herself away.

Kara’s breath hitches, then, because Lena’s there, eyes intent on the stage, within arm’s reach. Her profile is, and always will be, magnificent, even in the darkness.

But then the spotlight swings up for Kara’s reveal, reflecting off the mirrors adhered to her unitard, and, as Lena’s eyes lock with hers and widen in recognition, Kara pushes off of the step she’s perched on, feels the tug of the lead–

And soars.

༄༄༄

Kara always treats herself to burgers the day after a successful performance, which is to say that Jasper at the poolside burger bar knows her order by heart. He hollers out a hello to her when she joins the back of the line, and by the time she’s at the front, a double cheeseburger and a heap of fries is ready for her.

“You’re amazing, Jasper! Honestly.” Kara pops a fresh fry in her mouth, and grins at the bronze-skinned man behind the counter.

“We were starting to miss you!” His dark eyes crinkle with warmth.

There’s a lull in the line, so Kara takes her time wandering over to the condiments. “Yeah, well, hadn’t had a show in a while.”

“I take it your show was a success?”

Kara takes a small bowl and starts mixing all the available sauces together. “Let’s just say Cat was very happy.”

He looks at her, perplexed as Kara giggles. “That woman is never happy.”

Kara leans forward, beckoning him closer. “Any chance you can come by sometime soon?” 

“For a–”

Kara nods.

“I have time tonight, around 8:30. Usual rate.”

“Cool.” She leans back, and snags several pepper packets. “I’ll see you then.”

༄༄༄

Lena finds her at a secluded table, finishing the last of her celebratory meal, mustard and ketchup all over her face. When Kara sees her, with her large sun hat, dark sunglasses, and wrapped in a colourful, translucent sarong, she nearly chokes on her last fry.

“You have tattoos…” Kara croaks, eyes flitting over the skin revealed by the deep cut of Lena’s dark swimsuit.

She spies two swallows flanking the sails of a classic rigged ship on her sternum, a fierce yellow Eastern-style dragon coiling up and around her right thigh, a turtle on top of crossed cannons on the other. She thinks she sees something hiding just under the bottom hem of Lena’s suit, half obscured by Lena’s sarong, but shoots her eyes back up to Lena’s face, her cheeks burning guiltily.

Lena raises an eyebrow with a coy smile. “That’s one way to greet someone.” The dark haired woman pulls up a chair, drops her towel bag by her feet, and leans forward to whisper, “That’s not even all of them.”

Kara groans, suddenly feeling very overheated, despite the fact that she’s seated in the shade and the ship is speeding back to National City. “You’re going to be the death of me, you know.” She pushes her dishes away to hide her head in her hands.

“I am, am I?” Lena’s voice is husky, and lower than Kara’s ever heard it. Lena sounds pleased with herself.

_She should be pleased with herself. She’s getting really hard to resist. This is absolutely ridiculous. Fuck me, how is she so beautiful?_

Kara peeks out from here she’s hiding her face when Lena snorts. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

The older woman nods, and leans back, taking pity on Kara. “I... take it you’re not allowed to…” Kara nods, apology evidently visible in her expression, because Lena simply reaches forward to pat her forearm, face hopeful. “Raincheck, then? When we’re not what we are now?”

Kara smiles at her. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

_I’d really, really like that._

“Well, I was hoping to catch you before the cruise ended anyway, so bumping into you here was lucky!” There’s pride in Lena’s eyes that brings a different kind of heat to Kara’s fluttering chest. “You were magnificent last night! I just wanted you to know.”

“I… well, thank you!” It comes out more high pitched than Kara intends it to, and she clears her throat. “I mean, I’m so glad you had a chance to see it before the cruise ended!”

_...Before she has to leave._

“Me too.”

༄༄༄

This time, when Lena gets up to go, it’s with a saucy wink that Kara doesn’t see. She’s too busy staring at her napkin, with Lena’s personal number, her email, and the words, “ _Looking forward to hearing from you! ;)_ ” scrawled across it.

༄༄༄

That night, after Kara’s much needed massage, there’s another goodbye party at the crew bar. Andrea’s leaving, but somehow, this feels like more of a relief to Kara than the sad thing she thought it’d be, before. Before she went home to Midvale. Before she met Lena in the lounge, not even 2 weeks ago. She bids Andrea a safe journey home, accepting Andrea’s lingering hug and kiss on the cheek before the Argentinian woman goes into the smoker’s room with some other entertainment staff. As always, a cloud of smoke escapes through the doorway, which has Kara’s scowl deepening.

She’s grumpy. It’s obvious she’s not in a good mood.

It’s like the music is too loud, and the room is too dim. There are too many airhorns from the resident amateur DJ. There are too many people, none of which she wants to see. It’s to the point where even stupid Mon-El can tell she’s upset, which is saying a lot. He tells Kara he can cheer her up, slurring his words slightly from the alcohol in his system, and she pushes him away with a glare as he starts miming at sex. He laughs, unaffected, before sauntering up to one of the spa girls and flashing his abs. As the girl from the spa levels the slackliner with an unimpressed glare, Nia plops down next to Kara.

"Why so glum, chum?" Nia slides closer on the vinyl seat, sipping at her cocktail. She leans closer, yelling to be heard over the music. "Sad your old boo is leaving?"

Kara shakes her head as Brainy and Winn sit themselves down nearby, engaged in a deep discussion about…what sounds like robots.

Nia looks at her knowingly, and waggles her eyebrows. "So your new boo then?"

Kara slumps down lower in her seat. "She's not my boo." Nia doesn't hear her over the music, so Kara repeats herself.

Nia nods. "But you wanted her to be."

Kara lets out a deep sigh as Nia pulls her into a hug. Her eyes start to tear up, which is ridiculous, since–

_I barely even know Lena! What is wrong with me?_

"You know, Kara…" Nia pulls away, eyes dancing with mirth. "I had no idea you were into MILFs!"

Kara chokes out a wet laugh, swiping at her eyes. "To be honest, Nia, I didn't either."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Cerveza_ → Spanish for “beer”
> 
> Yes, that night club (with the floating cow and the swing) actually exists in Puerto Vallarta. So do those museums that Lena mentions, and the beachside grill that Kara lusts after, and Lena eats at. I still dream about that shrimp.
> 
> And yes, the crew bar has a smoker’s room. It has little to no ventilation, and some days, the air inside would be so hazy that my eyes would water. It was that or have no one to socialize with (since so many of my coworkers were smokers), soooo…


	8. Postlude: Good Tide-ings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _may the tide  
>  that is entering even now  
>  the lip of our understanding  
>  carry you out  
>  beyond the face of fear  
>  may you kiss  
>  the wind then turn from it  
>  certain that it will  
>  love your back may you  
>  open your eyes to water  
>  water waving forever  
>  and may you in your innocence  
>  sail through this to that_  
>  \- **Blessing the Boats** , by Lucille Clifton

Kara wakes, the next morning, with the dropping of the anchor. Nothing ever muffles the way the racket of the chain unwinding rattles her skull, and Kara curls into herself, whimpering silently until it stops. She groans as she pulls herself out of bed, the throbbing in her head making her curse past-Kara's insistence on drinking away her sorrows.

The first thought that crosses her mind is of food, and coffee. _Lots_ of coffee.

(The second is of the napkin that is stuck to the wall above her desk, and of a certain pair of green eyes. Of the new contact in her phone.)

When Kara finally musters up the will to roll out of bed an hour later, she all but falls on her face.

_Fuck, alcohol is the devil._

She stumbles out of her room, barely grabbing her keys and phone on the way out, and somehow finds her way to the staff mess, where she asks whichever junior waiter that's there for a double shot of espresso while face down on the table.

_Time is a construct. Everything hurts… is this purgatory?_

“You look like you had a fun night."

Kara groans, only marginally lifting her head when she smells the lifegiving aroma of her espresso on ice. “Carlos, I am never drinking again!”

The Peruvian junior waiter chuckles at her antics. “You say this every cruise.” Kara excitedly pulls her caffeine towards her, taking her first long pull of it while Carlos fondly teases her for her choice of “bastardized espresso” while filling her water glass.

“Stop making fun of how I like my fancy bean water!!” The tired upward twitch of Kara's lips, her best attempt at a smile through the pounding of her head, belies her high, whining tone, and Carlos just shakes his head in amusement.

“You want another, yes?”

“ _Gracias_ , Carlito. You’re the best!”

The rest of her espresso is drained in seconds.

༄༄༄

Kara stays in the staff dining room, picking at her plate of plain toast, boiled eggs, and bananas, for a long while. By the time it gets busy, her headache has improved to a slow, dull throb. She feels the pitying eyes of some of the staff members, though, and knows that they all probably think she's hungover and not her sunny self because Andrea is leaving today.

"We've all been there," says Luke, a gentle Canadian art auctioneer. His smile is wistful as he pats her on the shoulder with a heavy hand. "Sometimes I wonder why we put up with it all… if it's even worth it." There's a deep sadness lurking in the back of his blue eyes, and Kara forces herself to smile back at him.

Andrea leaving is the last thing on her mind, but she can't tell any of them that.

_I need to get out of here._

The I-95 is swarming with frantic crewmembers, and loud machinery carrying palettes full of supplies and passenger suitcases. They're rushing to offload a small town's worth of people, and get another onboard while also restocking and resetting every section of the passenger areas so it looks completely spotless. Kara mindlessly weaves around them all; it's a dance she's perfected and can do in her sleep, at this point.

_Embarkation Day is so chaotic, geez._

The resounding metallic sound of too many feet behind her has Kara stepping to the side to let some shoppies speed-walk past her, intent on unloading a palette full of merchandise that has just been dropped off.

The doorway near their palette of " _the Burberry! Only 3 weeks late!_ " swings open, revealing Eve and her little gaggle of onboarding crewmembers. Kara watches her pause to point out the shoppies to one of them, saying something that Kara can't quite make out.

As Eve moves on with her troupe, Kara finds herself staring, frozen, where she is.

_It can't be… Can it?_

Kara struggles to pull out her cell phone, thumbing to a number she hadn't expected to use so quickly, and sends a quick text of " _Hey! This is Kara!_ "

Kara's heart starts up a staccato beat seconds later as the person at the tail end of Eve's group pauses, combat boots squeaking on the steel floor. The new crew member reaches into her olive green jacket pocket and pulls out her phone.

_What the fuck what the fuck whatthefuck_

Mere seconds later, Kara's phone is vibrating, and she nearly drops it.

" _What a coincidence, i was just thinking of you ;)_ "

Kara swallows thickly around her heart, lodged in her throat.

" _Look behind you_ "

_I'm gonna puke, holy shit, what is life?_

The dark-haired woman ahead of her turns, green eyes searching until they settle on Kara. She smiles as she watches Kara's feet pull her forward.

"Lena?"

Lena's eyes shine with fondness as she takes Kara in. "Hey stranger, long time no see!"

Kara flushes, subconsciously running her fingers through her bedhead, all too aware that she's looking like a hot mess, still in her pyjamas, still hungover. Lena looks like a vision, even in the angry fluorescent hallway lighting. Kara's still not sure she's entirely real.

"What are you doing here?" Kara's eyes widen as she hears herself. "Not that I'm not glad you're here, or whatever, because I am. Glad, that is. Like, so glad. Ecstatic, even! But I wasn't expecting to see you, like, here? Like, here here, in the crew area, I mean, and I'm–"

Lena stills her with a soft hand on her arm. "Kara, you're rambling." Kara's ears heat up as her blush deepens. "And, to answer your question, I work here. My contract starts today!"

"Oh." Kara doesn't know what else to say. Questions war with each other in her head, all wanting to be asked, but all she does is make a kind of sputtering choked sound as her mouth opens and closed. Her expression must be hilarious, because it has Lena giggling softly.

Further down the hall, Eve pokes out of the crew office, looking around the I-95 until she sees them. "Oh, there you are, Sir! I thought I'd lost you already!"

_Sir????!!!!_

Lana scowls slightly, turning to look over her shoulder at the Human Resources officer behind her. "I'd really rather not be called Sir... Eve, was it?"

"Yes, Sir!" Eve smirks with a mock salute, before noticing Kara behind Lena. "Oh, hey Kara!"

_I'm so lost right now…_

"Hi, Eve."

"Can I steal her for a sec? We've got a couple of things to go through before I hand the newbies off to their departments."

"Ya, sure, okay."

"Amazing, thanks Kara!" Eve raises an eyebrow as she makes eye contact with Lena. Her smile turns to ice as she jerks her head towards the crew office before walking back inside.

Lena sighs as she turns back to face Kara. "I'm sorry, Kara, I've gotta–"

"Ya."

"I'll see you...?"

Kara nods, still in shock. Lena gently squeezes Kara's arm, lingering slightly before turning to go.

༄༄༄

Kara makes it back to her cabin in a daze. Her shower does nothing to wash away the thick fog of confusion in her mind, and she's robotically towelling off her hair when she hears her cell phone vibrate on the desk.

A second later, it's in her hand.

Somewhere outside her room, Nia rushes by, and Kara hears her calling to Alex and Lucy about catching breakfast before it ends.

Kara's not sure why, but her breath is shallow and there's a kaleidoscope of butterflies rioting in her stomach. She's not sure she can bring herself to unlock her phone.

༄༄༄

There's a message from Lena.

༄༄༄

" _Meet me in the officer's lounge tonight?_ "

" _I'd like that_ "

༄༄༄

_**TBC…?** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have literally never finished a fic that is longer than 10K prior to this one. I don't think I would have ever been able to, if it hadn't been for this Big Bang thang! Y'all are great

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this self-indulgent fic! I have so many more things I want to do with this universe, so feel free to let me know if you want me to continue this as a series!
> 
> As always, you can find me @v2k1k1 on [twitter](https://twitter.com/v2k1k1) or [instagram](https://instagram.com/v2k1k1) (this last one is new!) but I’m most active on [tumblr @5-5-k](https://5-5-k.tumblr.com)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Safe Harbour (Art)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26742205) by [Bluestonearden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluestonearden/pseuds/Bluestonearden)
  * [Safe Harbour (Art)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26765272) by [dasschmitt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasschmitt/pseuds/dasschmitt)




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